Buckle.



G. A. BREWER.

BUCKLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12, 1912.

1,069,758. Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

WITNESSES: 22 F g 7 INVENTOR cnLuMnlA PLANOGRAPH CO.,WASH|NGTON. n. c.

SATES PAT i CHARLES A. BREWER, OF NOROTON HEIGHTS, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR'10 BREWER BELT AND BUCKLE COMPANY, INC., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

BUCKLE.

Application filed February 12, 1912.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES A. BREWER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Noroton Heights, county ofFairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement inBuckles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the class of buckles illustrated and describedin Letters Patent of the United States, Number 824,276, granted to meJune 26, 1906, and has for its object to still further perfect theinvention for general use and more especially to adapt it for use as abelt buckle.

WVith these ends in view I have devised the novel buckle which I willnow describe, referring to the accompanying drawing forming a part ofthis specification and using reference characters to indicate theseveral parts:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my novel buckle detached; Fig. 2 a sideelevation as in use upon a belt, the belt being fastened; Fig. 3 asection on the line 33 in Fig. 1, looking in the direction of thearrows, the belt appearing in edge view at the beginning of theoperation of fastening; Fig. 4 a section on the line 44 in Fig. 1,looking in the direction of the arrows, showing in full lines thefastened position of the belt and in dotted lines the operation ofunfastening; Fig. 5 an inverted plan view; Fig. 6 an elevation as seenfro-m the right in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4; Fig. 7 a sectional view on anenlarged scale, showing the construction of the socket end of thebuckle; and Fig. 8 is a perspective of a belt with my novel buckleapplied thereto and illustrating the operation of fas tening andunfastening the belt.

10 denotes the body of my novel buckle, 11 the roller and 12 a belt towhich the buckle is applied. The body is blanked out in a single piecefrom sheet metal and comprises essentially side pieces 13 and crosspieces 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. One end of the belt is passed around crosspiece 15 and secured by stitching as at 19, the line of stitching beingwholly covered by cross piece 14, thus improving the appearance of thebelt.

20 denotes flanges upon the side pieces which form a finish for the bodyof the buckle and impart to it strength and rigidity. These flanges arebroken away as at 21, at which point the side pieces are bentSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 12,1913.

Serial No. 677,068.

inwardly and then rearwardly and outwardly to form sockets 22 whichreceive the ends of the roller. The end walls of the sockets are formedby the flanges which meet, as at 23, and the bottom of the sockets isformed by cross piece 17. Beyond the sockets the flanges are removed.The upper walls of the sockets incline inwardly from cross piece 16 tothe end of the body forming what may be termed working inclines 25against which the roller bears in use, as will be more fully explained.Between cross pieces 17 and 18 the side pieces form other inclinesindicated by 24, the function of which will presently be explained.Inclines 24 terminate in cross piece 18 which in the assembled positionlies in contact with cross piece 16 and between the flanges (see Figs. 3and 4) in which position it is securely rctained by lugs 26 formedintegral with cross piece 16, which are closed tightly around crosspiece 18 locking the cross pieces together and making the body andsockets perfectly rigid. Lugs 26 have an additional function in thatthey prevent the possibility of the roller becoming set in the angles ofthe sockets when raised by the belt, as indicated by dotted lines inFig. 4. In order to add strength to the buckle and also to preventcutting of the leather of the belt, I preferably utilize a portion ofthe metal cut out between cross piece 15 and cross pieces 14 and 16 andturn it under cross piece 15 forming rolled edges 27, as clearly shownin the drawing.

The operation is as follows: In fastening a belt, the operator passesthe free end of the belt over cross piece 17 and under the roller (seeFigs. 3 and 6). The effect is to push the roller toward the left, asseen in Fig. 3, and up inclines 24, thus permitting the belt to passinward freely. After the free end of the belt has been pushed inwardunder the roller as far as may be required to suit the comfort andconvenience of the wearer, the belt is released and is then naturallyexpanded by the breathing of the wearer. This acts to draw the free endof the belt backward slightly and causes the roller to travel backwardin the sockets until it wedges between Working inclines 25 and the belt,as shown in full lines in Fig. 4. This clamps the belt tightly betweenthe roller and cross piece 17 which forms the bottom of the sockets. Tounfasten the belt,

the wearer picks up the free end of the belt outside the buckle andraises it, as shown in dotted lines in Figs. f and 8. This throws theroller forward into the wider portions of the sockets and tilts theportion of the belt within the buckle in the opening between crosspieces 17 and 18, which leaves that end of the belt free and permits itto be withdrawn. The possibility of the roller wedging in the oppositeor upper angle of the sockets either in fastening or unfastening thebelt is prevented by lugs 26 which project into the angle. The rollerdoes not require to be touchedby the operator but is moved forward bythe lifting of the belt in unfastening and its action in fastening isautomatic; that is, it is drawn backward by the free. end of the beltuntil it wedges between the working inclines and the belt and clamps thebelt betweeen itself and cross piece 17.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. A buckle of the character described comprising a body provided withside pieces and cross pieces, said side pieces being inwardly inclinedfrom one of said cross pieces to one end of said body and havinginwardly and outwardly extending portions at said incline to form asocket with closed sides and open front, the inner wall of said socketbeing formed by a second cross piece, a roller mounted in said socket,and stops for the roller at the forward and rear ends of said socket,and means for preventing wedging of the roller in said socket.

2. A buckle of the character described comprising a body provided withside pieces and cross pieces, said side pieces being inwardly inclinedfrom one of said cross pieces to one end of said body and havinginwardly and outwardly extended portions at said incline to form asocket with closed sides and open front, the forward end of said socketbeing provided with flanges forming front stops, the inner wall of saidsocket being formed by a second cross piece spaced from and parallelwith the first cross piece, a

Copies 01 this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

roller mounted in said socket, said side pieces being extendedrearwardly at an angle from the second cross piece to the firstmentioned cross piece to form stops for the roller at the rear end ofthe socket.

3. A buckle of the character described comprising a body provided withside pieces and cross pieces, said side pieces being inwardly inclinedfrom one of said cross pieces to one end of said body and havinginwardly and outwardly extended portions at said incline to form asocket with closed sides and open front, the inner wall of said socketbeing formed by a second cross piece, a roller mounted in said socket,said side pieces being extended rearwardly at an angle from the lastmentioned cross piece to the first mentioned cross piece to form stopsfor the roller at the rear end of the socket, and means for preventingthe roller from wedging in the angle formed by the rear stops.

at. A buckle of the character described comprising a body provided withside pieces and cross pieces, said side pieces being inwardly inclinedfrom one of said cross pieces to one end of said body and havinginwardly and outwardly extended portions at said incline to form asocket with closed sides and open front, the inner wall of said socketbe ing formed by a second cross piece, a roller mounted in said socket,said side pieces be ing extended from the last mentioned cross piece tothe first mentioned cross piece, and carrying a third cross piece whichcontacts with the inner face of the first mentioned cross piece, wherebystops for the roller are provided at the rear end of said socket, one ofsaid contacting cross pieces being provided with retaining lugs bentoverthe edge of the abutting cross piece, and serving to prevent wedging ofthe roller at the contignous end of the socket.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES A. BREWVER. l/Vitnesses:

CRAMER C. HEGEMAN, JOSEPH J. LINXWEILER.

Washington, D. C.

